Treating yourself to a lie-in could slash the risk of getting dementia by more than 70 per cent, study finds

Treating yourself to an extra couple of hours in bed at the weekend could do much more than just re-energise your body.

Research has found it could also slash the risk of dementia by more than 70 per cent.

Scientists found men and women over 65 who enjoyed a lie-in on a Saturday or Sunday morning were much less likely to later develop the incurable condition.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia affect around 900,000 people in the UK and the number is expected to rise to 1.5m by 2040 – due to an ageing population.

Doctors recommend regular physical exercise, a healthy diet and limited alcohol intake to protect against the illness.

An active social life, regular hearing tests and stimulating mental tasks – such as puzzles and crosswords – are also thought to help.

But the latest study, published in the journal Sleep and Breathing, shows hitting the snooze button at the weekend could also help.

Researchers from National Taiwan University Hospital, in Taipei, Taiwan, tracked 215 men and women aged 65 or over for two years.

The volunteers kept sleep diaries and wore accelerometers – wrist-watch like devices that monitor when the body is moving or motionless – to record sleeping times.

Researchers then analysed what proportion developed cognitive dysfunction – an early warning sign for dementia.

The results showed roughly half the volunteers enjoyed a weekend lie-in to catch up on sleep they had missed during the week.

As a result, they were 74 per cent less likely to have deteriorating cognitive function than those who did not stay in bed.

Weekend catch-up sleep has previously been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks, ward off obesity, keep depression at bay and even help people live longer.

Men and women aged over 65 who enjoyed a lie-in on Saturday or Sunday are less likely to develop the incurable condition

Scientists said it’s not clear precisely how snoozing for longer protects the brain against dementia.

But one theory is that it means the brain has more time to rest and recuperate – strengthening connections between neurons.

It may also be that adequate sleep reduces inflammation in the body which may contribute to the development of dementia.

In a report on their findings scientists said: ‘This is the first study to examine the effects of catch-up sleep on cognitive impairment in older adults.

‘Results indicate weekend sleep is associated with a decreased risk of cognitive dysfunction.’